Befaco has some new and refreshed modules, elegantly covering some essential utilities and mixing. They’ve done a hands-on demo in Barcelona, and best of all, you can grab these as free and open source modules for the free VCV Rack environment. That means you could be playing with them in a matter of moments.
Let’s do this. I won’t include separate VCV Rack links as it’s easier to pick which you want from the Befaco Library page. But as usual with VCV Rack, you can buy either assembled or if you love the smell of solder in the morning, as a kit.
A*B+C is a multiplication, addition, and attenuation utility all in one, with two channels. The thing you want to keep your eye on is the block diagram, if any of that is unclear, pictured here.
MuDi is a cute surprise: it’s a clock multiple, conditioner, and divider in 2HP. So it’s simple, you just take an input, and get 4-7 div as 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, and 1/16. Oddly enough, even in the virtual world I find myself needing extra divs in a jiffy so this looks fun for VCV Rack, too!
This could be an interesting pairing with the Kyiv-built, Ukrainian module from Happy Nerding and MachineRoom, Juke, which I leaked here on CDM recently. Put them together and you’d have something really killer in a small amount of HP.
Slew is just a convenient lag processor / slope detector. I’d used the previous version of this virtually and the update looks terrific, partly because of how it handles gates. Input a gate, and you get an ASR envelope (constantly in need of that). Other than that, output gates based on rising or falling voltages. That means yes, it does what it says on the tin and acts as a slew (making acid slides, eased transitions between voltage levels, etc.), but it’s a handy gate maker, too!
You’ve got CV ins for rise and fall times, three selectable speed ranges, ultra-precise pitch tracking < 1 mV, and that signature fader.
This one I expect to use all the time in VCV Rack, too.
ATTE is a quad attenuverter, splitter, and offset generator.
MIXER is just that – four ins (use it for two stereo pairs if you like), handy routing options, and LEDs.
And there you have it. A nice lineup, plenty of stuff to play with right now in VCV Rack, plenty of reason to be tempted to get the kit or finished modules. Enjoy!
They’ve also done this great module-by-module guide with patching ideas as part of their launch stream at Elevator Sound EU in Barcelona. Hello, Europe; enjoy purchasing these modules with predictable tax law (just VAT, no import duty, no day-to-day random changes on the whims of some … individual):
DivKid is already out with the demo video and… I’ll watch it later; I ain’t got time for this, as I’ll be too busy in VCV Rack randomly wiring s*** up! (Sorry, Ben!)
Actually, if you are in the USA, Perfect Circuit has all but this very latest Befaco stuff in stock already, including some really beautiful modules:
Befaco at Perfect Circuit
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Previously – and ooh, I am still having so much fun with this one (adding the tutorial video):
